It would help relieve prisons and stop re-offending as offenders would be slapped with community orders instead, Mr Stewart said.

However, Ministry of Justice data shows that out of all the offenders convicted in the Humberside Police patrolled area in 2017, 858 were given custodial sentences of six months or less.

Those offenders made up six per cent of all people convicted - compared to four per cent across England and Wales as a whole.

858 criminals were jailed in Hull and East Yorkshire for less than six months or less in 2017 (Image: katie.pugh)

More than a third of short sentences in the area in 2017 - 330 out of 858 - were for theft. This also included 239 cases of shoplifting.

Other crimes punished with short sentences included a case of sexual assault against a man, seven cases of racially or religiously aggravated common assault, eight home burglaries, 150 common assaults and 30 cases of possession of an item with a blade or point.

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In July last year, the Prison Reform Trust called on the government to follow Scotland’s lead and introduce a presumption against short prison sentences as part of their efforts to restore safety and stability to our struggling jails.

It said figures show that nearly two-thirds of those given prison sentences of less than 12 months re-offend within a year of release. Of those given short sentences in 2017, four in five people had committed a non-violent offence.

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